Claimed

When (a) and I arrived home Friday evening from our Spring Break adventures, one of the tasks I took a few minutes to do was sift through the mail.  (A) had thrown out most of the junk mail as it had arrived, but he left the bills, correspondence, and other items of news and interest for me to go through when I got home.  One of these was the monthly newsletter from our church.  I will admit, it is an item I read cover to cover each month because I don’t want to miss out on something important.  One small article in the newsletter this month was about the Women’s Retreat, put on by our church camp, that is coming up in a couple weeks.  I am humbled and privileged to be the keynote speaker for this event, so I took an extra second to carefully read the published details (mainly because I wanted to make sure I have the event times and details written down correctly in my calendar!)  As I read through a very simple sentence caught my eye “The speaker this year is OCC’s Kristi Sweeney.”  I read it again and tears began to run down my face.  I looked up at (A) and read it aloud to him.  He kind of looked at me like I was crazy, and reminded me that I knew I was speaking, this was not surprising news to us.  But I said, “No, LISTEN… OCC’s Kristi Sweeney… they used an apostrophe s- they are claiming me as their own.” 

Call me old fashioned, but I love to hear a possessive pronoun in front of my “name.”  I love to hear (A) refer to me as “my wife.”  (a) melts me when he says “my Mama!”  It makes me proud to hear “my sister,” “our daughter,” “my teacher.”  To me, that possessive claim makes me feel loved, needed, and wanted.  But I also know it is part of a relationship, that it has something to do with what I can give to them in return. 

Some of my favorite claims to hear... "My Mama"  "My Wife"

I know that an apostrophe s may seem like a simple thing, but to me, the simple claim of possession meant the world.  To feel claimed, and wanted, and called as their own was a huge gift of love.  When we came to OCC eight months ago, we were battered and broken.  I walked into church feeling, for the first time in years, that I had nothing to give.  I cried through our entire first service there, but I also knew within minutes that the Spirit of the Living God was very active in that place, and He was also going to use that body of believers to heal our hearts and draw us closer to Him.  I never dreamed they would claim me as their own. 

After a wonderful Resurrection Sunday service, (A) and I were talking in the car as we drove about how much like “home” this church has become to us.  As soon as we pull in (a) immediately starts yelling “Church!! Yay, church!! I go in! Go big kid church!!” (they have a rockin’ children’s ministry).  Walking through the doors feels like a big hug because we are quickly greeted by people who have become our friends and mentors.  I told (A), I realize that we will not be there forever, it is very clear that God is calling us back into full time ministry someday, but when the time comes to leave that place, I will never have enough words to thank this church body for taking us in, loving us, helping heal us, and calling us their own. 

And as we discussed that, it hit me… that has truly been a physical demonstration of the love of Christ shown to us.  Jesus takes me right where I am- battered, broken, and nothing to give- and He loves me anyway.  He has been healing my bruised heart, teaching me about forgiveness, drawing me to Him, and telling me to let go and lean on Him.  And even more amazing, He claims me as His own.  Even with my short-comings, my mistakes, and my failures, he uses that possessive word “MINE” when He looks at me.  And as I look at that kind of love, I know I will never have enough words to thank Him for loving me, healing me, forgiving me, dying for me, and calling me His own.  And I know that if He can look at me and call me his own, He will do the same for anyone else who wants to be claimed too.  Thank you, Lord for being my Rock, my Savior, my Healer, my Comforter, my Redeemer, and everything else I could ever need to claim.

“Now this is what the Lord says- the One who created you, Jacob, the One who formed you, Israel- ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; YOU ARE MINE.’”  Isaiah 43:1 (HCSB)